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Tips for Success With Social Media: Part One

July 23, 2015

CC image courtesy of Jason Howie

As a small business owner, you are undoubtedly busy. Whether youa��re a new entrepreneur or you have been running your company for a while, the responsibilities of keeping a small business afloat can be overwhelming. Ita��s understandable that you dona��t have a lot of time to devote to your social media presence. In 2015, with the majority of people not only using social media, but also relying on it as a main source of information, it is vital that you devote some time and effort to building and maintaining your Internet presence.

Over the next few weeks, we will be discussing ways that you can relate to your clients, customers, colleagues and the community at large through social media. For today, wea��ll talk about the different sites that you can use to begin promoting yourself as you engage others.

Facebook: The Big One

If you ask a random sampling of people which social media site is used the most frequently, chances are excellent that most will mention Facebook. They would be correct; with billions of users, Facebook is the most popular social media site today. If you are going to make only one social media profile, chances are good that Facebook is the one that makes the most sense.

Twitter: Keep It Short, Sweetheart

Part of Twittera��s appeal is that users are limited to 140 characters in each post. This makes it easy to sip your coffee and read through the daya��s (or more likely, the houra��s) news. The character limit can make it challenging to post the details that you need to, however, so youa��ll need to practice brevity to succeed here.

Pinterest: An Up-and-Coming Leader

Pinterest is gaining a lot of interest. Most business owners can carve their own niche into Pinterest, even if it does not seem obvious at first. While some might think that the site is geared toward crafty homemakers, there is a lot of opportunity here for almost anyone.

Instagram: Say Cheese!

Instagram, a smartphone app based on images and video, is a hot social media site worth looking into. It takes little time to keep it updated, and you can snap photos with your phone, making it convenient to use.

LinkedIn: Business Networking Meets Social Media

LinkedIn is great for any business owner or entrepreneur. It will put you in contact with others in your industry, as well as those looking for professionals in your field. This is one of the networking sites that you can get away with not updating as frequently, but it is important to keep your contact details current.

And Much More

There are many other sites to consider as well, including Google+, Tumblr, Vine, YouTube and Flickr. Wea��ll be going over the pros and cons of each of these.

In the digital age, it makes sense to keep your social media presence as a high priority. If you dona��t have a lot of time to devote, wea��ll go over some tips on making the most of the time investment that you can make. We think youa��ll find that ita��s worth it to put some effort into engaging with your potential customers, past clients and others in the community.